MS registry analyses support switch to Gilenya (Novartis) for MS

Novartis announced at ECTRIMS conference findings from an international multiple sclerosis (MS) registry and a US health claims data base which showed the real-world superiority of Gilenya (fingolimod) in reducing risks of relapses compared to standard therapies.The 'MSBase study', a global, longitudinal, observational registry for MS involving 60 centers in 26 countries and US administrative claims data from the 'IMS PharMetrics PlusTM Database' were interrogated for information on the impact on MS relapses of switching to either oral Gilenya or to one of the standard injectable therapies - an interferon or glatiramer acetate. Collectively, analysis of patient data from these large, real-world databases (416 patients from MSBase and 933 patients from the IMS PharMetrics PlusTM Database) showed that treatment with Gilenya reduced the annualized relapse rate and risk of relapse by approximately 50% compared to therapy with an interferon or glatiramer acetate treatment. They also showed that even amongst patients with MS who have a history of relapse, switching to Gilenya was associated with significant and clinically meaningful reductions in the number of relapses and the probability of experiencing a relapse compared to switching to an interferon or glatiramer acetate.